Grazia Ting Deng

I am a sociocultural anthropologist. I grew up in China and completed my doctoral studies in Hong Kong. I conduct my research in Europe and live in the United States. 

I am currently a lecturer at Brandeis University's Department of Anthropology. I formerly served a European Commission Marie Curie Fellow in collaboration with University of Venice Ca' Foscari (2022-24) and a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University’s Population Studies and Training Center (2019-22) after completing my doctoral degree in anthropology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

My work lies primarily at the intersection of the Chinese diaspora and immigrant Italy. As one of the few Chinese anthropologists working on this thematical and geographical area of study, I aim to bring in a decolonized and feminist lens, voice, and perspective to my anthropological knowledge production. My research broadly speaks to the scholarship on migration, racial formation, global capitalism, space and place, and labor and health.

My book Chinese Espresso: Contested Race and Convivial Space in Contemporary Italy was published by Princeton University Press in 2024. Other articles of mine have appeared in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Ethnography, International Migration, Anthropologica, etc. 

My new book project focuses on Chinese fast fashion industry in Prato, a Tuscany town known for its textile industry and highly concentrated Chinese population. This new project examines Chinese-led racial capitalism in Italy, which is characterized by South-South encounters within the Global North.